Seattle University adjuncts will fast for union recognition

Kshama Sawant will speak at event, part of a coordinated national day of action

SEATTLE – In coordination with other Seattle demonstrations, Seattle University adjuncts and supporters will hold a one-day fast and a major demonstration at the university onThursday as part of a national day of action for workers’ rights and living wages.

SU contingent faculty voted in a union election nearly two years ago, but the university had used legal appeals to keep the ballots from being counted.

“I’m fasting because I’m already hungry for the democratic right to form our union,” said Ben Stork, a film studies instructor at Seattle University. “We voted nearly two years ago and the SU administration continues to deny us. We cannot eat well unless we have a seat at the table. I’m also fasting for all low-wage workers who are forced to work starvation wages to enrich those whose obscene financial obesity is an incalculable moral and physical health hazard to us all.”

Once considered middle class employment, many professors now work part-time for low pay, no job security, few benefits, and even no office space. One Seattle adjunct estimated that they were paid between $8 and $10 an hour, well below the city’s minimum wage.

On Thursday, hundreds will gather at SU and other locations throughout Seattle to raise the alarm on workers’ rights and poverty wages.

DETAILS:

WHAT: As part of national day of action, Seattle University adjunct professors and supporters will fast and demonstrate for right to join union